Dean Jon Gould revealed the latest UCI-OC Poll findings at the State of the County event.
Survey examines ‘brain drain’ in Orange County
Half of Orange County’s residents have or are considering relocation, according to the latest UCI-OC Poll.
The poll, run by the University of California, Irvine School of Social Ecology, surveyed 1,100 current and former Orange County residents to find out why they left, why they may be considering leaving and what can be done to attract and retain residents and skilled employees.
“This poll provides a fuller accounting of the risks facing Orange County and the factors that motivate staying and leaving,” said Jon Gould, dean of UCI’s School of Social Ecology. He debuted the results of the poll today at the second annual State of the County luncheon in Newport Beach.
In total, 51% of OC residents are potential “leavers.”
Women, people under 40, non-white residents and those without a college degree are disproportionately more likely to be among the leavers. They cite the high cost of housing and the cost of living as the main reasons for their possible departure. They are worried about being able to find affordable housing in a county where such housing is lacking.
“Unlike much of the rest of California, Orange County has not been hemorrhaging residents,” Gould said. “However, there is a strong storm brewing off our coast in which more than 1/3 of residents are actively considering leaving the OC.”
That’s not an idle risk, he added, citing the latest poll. “Half of renters and one out of five homeowners said that, over the last year, they had been worried about being able to cover their housing payments. Unless county leaders take decisive action soon, this brewing storm threatens our future.”
Between the weather, quality of life, healthcare, and family, people like living in Orange County and don’t want to leave, Gould said. “It is, thus, incumbent upon county leaders to help make this a reality with more affordable housing across all spectra in the county.”
After their presentation, which was attended by scores of elected officials, business leaders and community members, Orange County Supervisors Katrina Foley and Donald Wagner shared ideas for increasing affordable housing in the county.
“We need to build more,” Wagner said, adding that streamlining regulation of affordable housing developments would produce more.
Foley agreed, saying that the county is looking at a program that provides 2% construction loans for affordable housing construction as another way to address the problem. In addition, owner-occupied apartments could help residents who are worried about the cost of housing, she said.
“We don't want to lose the middle class or the young professional,” Foley said. “We want people to be able to have the benefit that we did — invest a couple hundred thousand dollars in their first home, get the equity and then move up. So, if we're building apartment-style living, some of that needs to be ownership-occupied.”
Henry Mendoza, a partner of MM & Co. who attended the event, said he was glad to hear that the county is considering ways to increase affordable housing.
“Nobody wants to leave Orange County,” he said. “We have everything, the best weather, beautiful neighborhoods and everything else, but we need to do everything we can to make sure young people are able to stay and thrive here.”
Finding solutions to the county’s pressing problems, such as the lack of affordable housing is the reason the UCI-OC Poll was created, Gould said.
“We don’t just study social problems,” he said. “We want to help solve them.”
The poll is available for download online. For more information about the poll, visit the website.